Community Resilience + Tactical Urbanism

community resilience + tactical urbanism Caroline Coleman, Rachel Stagner ARCH 807, Fall 2020

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contents research

case studies hurricane katrina, new orleans, louisiana

tactical urbanism project

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water crisis in flint, michigan

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sandy hook elementary school shooting

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tokyo sarin subway attack

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case studies sources

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community + resilience paper

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tactical urbanism case studies

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site analysis

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neighborhood analysis

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figure grounds

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snapshots

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community

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economy

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wellness

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climate + change

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context

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choosing a site

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site selection

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design development

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first prototypes

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second prototypes

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third prototype

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fifth prototype

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grand center soundscape

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final concept

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competition content

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research The first half of the semester consisted of exploring the meaning of community resilience. This involved reviewing disaster events to understand emergency responses and diving into the definitions and concepts beyond community and resilience.

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case studies To gain a better understanding of community responses to disaster events, we analyzed the impact of events as well as the effect on community resilience. This helped to give a greater perspective on how communities are affected by different types of emergencies.

Events Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, LA Water Crisis in Flint, MI Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting, Newtown, CT Tokyo Subway Sarin Attack in Tokyo, Japan

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New Orleans, Louisiana following Hurricane Katrina. The 17th Street Canal levee breech was responsible for flooding of the city in the hours following the hurricane.

AP Photo/U.S. Coast Guard, Petty Officer 2nd Class Kyle Niemi, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

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hurricane katrina, new orleans, louisiana Why? Why is Hurricane Katrina relevant?

Hurricane Katrina flooded nearly 80% of New Orleans and forcing a safety evacuation.

Community Impacts:

New Orleans residents were displaced from their homes. The city lost over half of the city’s population until 2012, when it rose to 76% of what it was in 2000 (The Data Center). There was also a loss of employment from damaged businesses which lead to economic instability.

Challenges

Damaged infrastructure left the community without access to basic needs, including a major lack of safe housing. Additionally, several local businesses in the area were forced to shut down resulting in a lack of economic opportunities in neighborhoods, where the 23% of population lives below the poverty line (Census Bureau, 2015).

The lack of resources and social disparities greatly effected the 69% of New Orleans residents who are Black (Census Bureau, 2015).Challenges in New Orleans were intensified for the black community due to “distrust of the government in minority groups [which can lead] to a lack of adherence to government guidelines that were essential for protection and safety” (Institute of Medicine, 2017).

Opportunities

Though there were existing levee and storm barriers created by the US Corps, there is a need for continued maintenance and monitoring for storm protection. Increased building codes to create a baseline of necessary building protection in the event of another storm is another opportunity to increase protection for those who own homes or businesses, which faced the largest struggle to rebuild after Hurricane Katrina. Although prevention and maintenance is a baseline of opportunity to strength the community against another storm, engagement between minority groups to receive information from non-government or political parties in order to instill trust and communication is also crucial. There is a “need to develop partnerships and organizations in developing plans that can protect the poor and vulnerable” (Sandra Course Quinn).

Outcomes

Thousands of families displaced from their homes and many local sources of lost. Due to the size of the damage from Hurricane Katrina all relief agencies were sent to help provide immediate assistance. One of the largest lessons learned from this disaster was the importance of identifying how environmental health issues can impact residents in several ways.

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Hurricane Katrina in NOLA

Value

Hurricane Katrina revealed the need for local assistance in efforts to repair damaged communities after disaster but also how national assistance can positively impact relief.`

What?

What were the Community, and Industry responses for Hurricane Katrina? Did these responses improve resilience?

The Red Cross Hurricane Recovery Program opened 1,400 evacuation shelters in several states, created shelters for evacuees, served hot meals to evacuees and responders and provided emergency assistance to families. Emergency assistance included, but was not limited to, providing items such as food, clothing, and other basic essentials. They worked on a person to person basis to help identify and document their individual needs, develop and complete a long-term recovery plan, as well as help to connect those devastated by the hurricane with community-based resources and support. Mental Health support was a large effort amongst resources they provided for those suffering from trauma.

Additionally, creating and identified affordable housing was a major challenge the Red Cross aimed to find solutions for.

FEMA aimed to provide federal assistance through debris removal/ emergency protective measures, health care, education, public works/ utilities, other public infrastructure needs, public safety and protection, and historic preservation. Although federal aid was granted, many community member felt that FEMA did not provide enough support.

Habitat for Humanity created Operation Home Delivery, an effort created to house people U.S. Gulf Coast who were left homeless

by Hurricane Katrina. They worked on a national and local level in an effort to rebuilt homes damaged by the storm.

The Katrina Environmental Research and Restoration Network (KERRN) was established by researchers at Tulane and Xavier to share data and ideas, and provide models for how to respond to major environmental disasters. KERRN is to be a community-based effort that reached the scientific community all other kinds of community efforts. The three goals of the program are intellectual capacity, preparing for future disasters, and approaching environmental health in the region in a systematic way. It is believed by the program that in order to directly impact the health of a community, research and practitioners must also address social and economic factors by working in partnership with the community.`

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Hurricane Katrina in NOLA

How? Knowledge and tools utilized

Search and rescue efforts as well as emergency medical and food supplies provided were first distributed. Local businesses, school, and other facilities were transformed in order to establish evacuation centers for those displaced from their homes.

Environmental contamination control was also established in order to prevent public health issues due to exposed sewage.

Additionally, a centralized research and data collection that allows for both access by both research and community members was created.

Knowledge and tool gaps

Community education is the largest gap of knowledge after Hurricane Katrina, as many residents were not well informed on how environmental health issues can directly impact the health of communities. Therefore, risk communication for community members after their return to New Orleans is crucial. Additionally, relying too much on one economic resource, such as import and exports, can have lastly impacts on local economy.

Who? Who responded? Could the response team have been augmented to facilitate a more successful response?

Government Organizations provided federal aid in order to begin addressing the environmental and infrastructure failures but would not cover the total destruction that New Orleans faced. Due to the large minority population in the community, many believe that the government response as well as preparations were untimely.

National response from non-government organizations provided aid to those who were left displaced. The rebuilding effort can largely due to the response of such organizations. These organizations helped to drive a feeling a hope and stability.

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Protestor at a protest organized by the Detroit Frontline Coalition held the night of the second Democratic Debate in Detroit, July 30, 2019.The Coalition supports the ideas of the Green New Deal.

Becker1999 from Grove City, OH, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

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water crisis in flint, michigan Why? Why is the Flint, MI Water Crisis relevant?

After switching water sources in 2014, Flint, MI was left with contaminated pipelines due to a lack of corrosion control at the water treatment plant (Heard-Garris,Roche and Carter). The corrosion brought lead-filled water into homes leaving thousands of residents susceptible to high levels of lead in their bloodstream.

Community Impacts:

100,000 residents in Flint were affected by drinking water quality changes and reported increased anxiety and stress in community, much of which was caused by a lack of education on health consequences from drinking contaminated water. Stress was also a result of the inability for residents to attend work or school due to sick children at home. This led to an increase of medical bills related to doctors appointments,which is especially troubling for a community with residents who have limited financial resources.

With that, increased spending on bottled water, water filters, and gas to pick up water supplies, greatly impacted resident finances.

(Heard-Garris,Roche and Carter).

Challenges

With 40% of residents in Flint living in poverty there is a resources available for residents struggling financially, including a lack of health insurance (US Census Bureau). Access to basic need of water was not met thus effecting the well being of residents and the success of business operations, but mentally the community also struggled with lack of mental health resources for community members coping with crisis. The lack of information regarding long term effects of lead poisoning in children and adults caused a great deal of stress on an individual and community level. Additionally, many residents felt there was a delayed response to the water crisis.

Opportunities

Identifying and providing resources for secondary consequences that are a result of crisis, such as mental strain is one of the largest opportunities for improvement after the water crisis. An increase in access to research and understanding of health terminology, can enable the community to be more informed, especially with a centralized information resource for community to make educated decisions.

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Flint, MI Water Crisis

Outcomes

This crisis prompted response to immediately fix the infrastructure failures in Flint Michigan that were made as a result of switching water sources. FLW prompted the need for centralized data collection and education on health safety protocols.

Value

The Flint Water Crisis demonstrated a need for increased infrastructure regulation in order to properly maintain the basic needs allotted for communities. This event also revealed a lack of mental health resources and the need for non-government organizations in order to establish additional resources due to distrust amongst minority communities and government organizations.

What?

What were the Community, and Industry responses for the Flint Water Crisis? Did these responses improve resilience?

The City of Flint awarded $100,000 to 11 community organizations that provide services to Flint ReCAST (Resiliency in Communities after Stress and Trauma).This program was “designed to promote resilience in the Flint community by supporting families and mitigating the impact of trauma” (City of Flint). The 11 programs which received aid provide critical substance abuse and mental health services that the community needs in order to cope with the negative effects that have come has a result of the Flint Water Crisis.

Flint Cares was created from the Flint Water Recovery Group to provide Flint residents with accurate and updated information regarding the water crisis, The Flint Water Recovery Group is comprised of more than 120 organizations that are working towards creating “short, intermediate, and long term solutions related to the crisis” (Flint Cares). The organization is operated independently from government and political organizations and is a partnership consisting of” five-work groups”, Behavioral Health, Physical Health, Communications, Education, and Recovery Resources.

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Flint, MI Water Crisis

Flint Water Study was developed by a research team from Virginia Tech to analyze the consequences that residents of Flint face, as a result of drinking contaminated water. The study has four goals: â&#x20AC;&#x153;to support citizen scientists concerned about public health by empowering Flint residents with independent information about their tap water, to study impact of water age and current water quality on Flintâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s water distribution systems as well as elevated lead and opportunistic pathogens in premise plumbing, to summarize [the previous two findings] to inform decision making and policy considerations, if necessary, on the part of both citizens and government agencies in the city, and to develop a comprehensive online repository as data and information become availableâ&#x20AC;? (Flint Water Study).

In Dec 2015, the major of Flint declared a state of emergency, followed by a state of emergency declared by the governor of Michigan to in Jan 2016, and shortly after, President Obama issued a declaration in mid Jan 2016. These declaration began to establish the need for federal agency responses through aid funding. Additionally the CDC helped to coordinate effective health messaging, lead exposure assessment, guidance on blood level screening protocols, and identifying and linking community members to appropriate education, social, and environment followup services. These educational services helped the community to be informed on the current status of their physical and mental health.

How? Knowledge and tools utilized

Foremost, government aid to work towards replacing the contaminated pipelines was established to begin reparations.

Access to non-profit agencies that provide mental health and substance abuse support, was also established in order to cope with the strain of the Flint Water Crisis. Additionally, a comprehensive online repository of data and information was created to track the health of community members effected by contaminated water.

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Flint, MI Water Crisis

Knowledge and tool gaps

Access to basic needs for survival are not met which is damaging to the success of the community.-Non-government organizations to provide infrastructure assistance and maintenance due to the communityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s belief in government incompetence.

Who? Who responded? Could the response team have been augmented to facilitate a more successful response?

The United States Environmental Protection Agency provided 100 million dollars to Michigan for Flint water infrastructure upgrades.

Additionally, Congress funded the CDC to establish a federal advisory committee to aid and support for response and recovery efforts. The Flint lead exposure registry was established to monitor health, child development, service utilization, and on-going lead exposure.

The Flint lead exposure registry was established to monitor health, child development, service utilization, and on-going lead exposure-The response address the primary concern of the water contamination as well as the health consequences related to lead poisoning, but failed to address secondary consequences that come as a result of a community in crisis.

Community members do not feel like this crisis has been resolved, they are still unable to drink their water.

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A makeshift memorial in Sandy Hook, CT, to the 27 victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting seen 12 days after the disaster.

Bbjeter, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

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sandy hook elementary school shooting Why? Why is the Sandy Hook Shooting relevant?

This was the deadliest mass shooting at a primary/secondary school in US history, and the second deadliest school shooting.

Because young children were killed in this event, it sparked debate over gun control in the United States1. The shooter committed this act in about 5 minutes, ending with his suicide; evidence was found that the shooter had an unhealthy obsession with mass shootings2.

Community Impacts:

This event led to 20 children and seven adults from the community being killed2. The school was an active crime scene, so students had to use a different (previously unused) school for classes following winter breaks4. This likely has led to PTSD in students who survived the attack

Challenges

The shooter had access to guns within his home2. The event happened in five minutes, from shooter entering the building, to committing suicide, not giving enough time for police to arrive and assess the scene before acting2. Despite emergency drills and training, teachers were not able to act fast enough to secure rooms and hide children from the shooter.

Because of gun laws in Connecticut, the shooter was legally allowed to carry a long rifle (the weapon he used to kill all the victims); he also had an excess amount of ammunition and high capacity clips that allowed him to dispense bullets quickly

Opportunities

While police response was quick (arriving about 3 minutes after the initial call to 911), the even occurred so quickly that stopping the shooter and preventing deaths were not possible; a way to reduce police response times and stronger design to prevent intruders from entering could have slowed down the process of the shooting, leading to saved lives.

If the shooter had received additional care for mental health problems and his social isolation had not been as severe, the situation may not have occurred. While the true motive will never be uncovered, the unhealthy obsession the shooter had with mass shooting/terrorist events may have been curbed and treatment sought out.

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Sandy Hook Elementary Shooting, Newtown, CT

Outcomes

Immediately following the shooting, there were calls from the public for more gun control; this led to backlash from the NRA, but was successful in helping push stricter gun control measures in the state (CT). President Obama addressed the nation on this event, stating that it was the responsibility as a nation to stop these events from happening.

The school building where the event happened was demolished; following that, state funding paid for a new building to be constructed (voted on by residents of Newtown).

Value

This event revealed issues within the mental healthcare system as well as failures with gun control. The ease of access that civilians have when purchasing weapons designed for intense combat shows how the American system can lead to mass shootings.

What?

What were the Community, and Industry responses for the Flint Water Crisis? Did these responses improve resilience?

School Nurse1, heard the commotion and was made aware of the presence of the shooter by a front desk staff member. She hid behind her workstation as the shooter entered the room; she was undetected but could see his feet 20 feet away through a gap in the furniture. After the shooter left the room, the nurse and the secretary called 911, alerting the police and starting the process for authorities to arrive. After calling, the two hid in a supply closet and locked the door, until they were found about four hours later by authorities. Following the shooting, the nurse refused to hear all the victimsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; names at once, a sign of how the event had affected her.

The police responded to the incident after being sent by the 911 dispatcher, who then broadcasts there is a shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary. Three minutes later, the first officer arrives on campus, but does not enter the building. The Newtown officers do not enter the school until after the final shot, the shooterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s suicide, is heard (about one minute after arriving on campus). The event happened so quickly, that police were not able to intervene in the attack.

This response brought up the issue of schools not having an oncampus security staff. Other schools in the district had resource officers, and it was voted on to include officers in all schools in the district after the attack. It is unknown if having an on-campus officer would reduce time to intervene in an attack.

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Sandy Hook Elementary Shooting, Newtown, CT

The National Rifle Associationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s reaction to the Sandy Hook Shooting was to call for armed officers and teachers in schools3.

Their reasoning argues that if teachers had weapons of their own, they could have taken down the shooter. While the effectiveness of armed security in schools is questionable (as shooting back at attackers has never stopped them), the community did vote to include security/resource officers in all schools, including elementary. This would help make families feel safer about their children in schools.

Connecticut State Government activated the Incident Command System to help with the aftermath of the shooting5; the ICS worked to create family notification teams to inform families of what happened to their children and to offer support needed or requested. The ICS also stationed clinicians at vigils for the victims and public meetings to act as support for the grieving families and community. Teams of 3-5 mental healthcare professionals responded to the needs of those closely affected and helped identify resources for the greater mental health response. The mental healthcare teams continued to respond to needs and keep in contact for several months following the attack. This response showed how comprehensive mental healthcare can assist victims and families, while instituting a long-term recovery plan and response.

How? Knowledge and tools utilized

The drills that schools perform to prepare for intruders worked to protect some students from the shooter (time being the determining factor). The black-out paper from a drill on one closed classroom door led to the shooter not attempting to enter the room.

During rebuilding process of school, the architect, Svigals + Partners, brought the community into the design process to gain trust and help rebuild a sense of safety5.

Knowledge and tool gaps

Police response was not fast or aggressive enough to stop the shooter before deaths occurred. Also, the schoolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s design allowed for easy entry through a shot out window at the entrance.

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Sandy Hook Elementary Shooting, Newtown, CT

Who? Who responded? Could the response team have been augmented to facilitate a more successful response?

The initial response was staff investigating the noise of the entry; this resulted in them being exposed to the shooter and being killed.

If there was a system to see the front doors via camera, the staff could have safely spotted the shooter and contacted authorities.

The design of the school could also include different doors (possibly fire doors, solid and unable to be shot through) beyond the entry so that entry to the building could not happen through a broken glass facade.

The police arrived minutes after the initial call to 911, closely followed by state police a few minutes later. The shooter had already killed himself before the police entered the building.

Unfortunately, the event happened so quickly that the fast response time did not save any lives. There is no obvious change to make response time faster, beyond having schools under total supervision y authorities.

The mental healthcare of the shooter was ignored or forgotten by the family; had there been a stronger system to catch the unusual behavior of the shooter while he was school age, there could have been care given to him to lessen his obsession around violence and possibly have prevented the shooting.

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Tokyo Police respond to the Sarin attack, equipped with the same gas masks used during an earlier raid on Aum Shinrikyo facilities, the group responsible for the Subway Attack.

United States Public Health Service, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

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tokyo sarin subway attack Why? Why is the Tokyo Sarin Subway Attack relevant?

The attack was the largest chemical terrorist attack in history (in non-wartime)1. The way Sarin spread through the subway system was unique in that the trains movement pushed infected air through tunnels into different stations. The design of the exit system required passengers to scan their card or hop the gates, causing a delay in the evacuation process. Before this event, the Japanese believed Tokyo’s subway system was the safest in the world3.

The slow communication time between officials and hospitals impacted how quickly healthcare workers could have helped patients—hospitals did not find out the cause of injuries (Sarin gas) until it was released on news3.

Only 7% of victims were transported by ambulance to hospital sites, with the vast majority arriving themselves3.

Community Impacts:

Challenges

The chemical was inhaled off of patients clothing by healthcare professionals despite them having no direct contact with the subway system3. 5,000+ people were affected by the Sarin gas, with 12 dying2.

Initially, officials were unable to understand what was causing the problems in the subway. Lack of communication between safety officials and hospital workers meant that HCP did not know what they were treating for3. There was also a lack of sufficient quantities of the antidotes for Sarin poisoning3.

Because of the Sarin’s impurity, the effects were slower (and less deadly) and harder for riders to understand what was happening3.

The design of the subway exit turnstiles caused slower evacuation and kept people in subway platforms longer (more exposure to gas)1. Also, the subway system continued to run some lines after the attack began, despite knowing of injury on other trains; this helped push more Sarin gas through the system3.

Ambulances congregated around the first reported sites, leaving the majority of affected riders to find a way to care on their own (by foot or a kind Samaritan driver).

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Tokyo Subway Sarin Attack

Opportunities

There was an opportunity to improve lines of communication between police/first responders and healthcare workers treating victims of terrorist attack/biological warfare. Ambulances could have been better dispersed through improved communication of affected sites Also, improved circulation and toxic gas/fume detection systems near platforms could be implemented, preventing infected air from spreading through tunnels.

Finally, preparation for disaster events should include stockpiles of antidotes and treatments nearby to city centers in case of another large scale chemical attack.

Outcomes

A terrorism response plan has been formulated by the Japanese government that assists in more effectively transporting victims and collection real time information on the conditions of patients to help determine the cause. There are also decontamination units that exist for use on smaller scale events.

Value

Following this event, it became clear that the lack of communication slowed the response. Now, the communication lines can more effectively disseminate information to all applicable parties, especially through the use of newer technology

What?

What were the Community, and Industry responses for the Tokyo Sarin Subway Attack? Did these responses improve resilience?

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Shizue Takahashi1, a widow of the Sarin Attack victim, was notified that her husband had removed a package from the train and wiped down the platform from any substance fallen on it.

By the time she got to the hospital to see him, he was dead.

She has dedicated her life now to get justice for the victims of the Sarin Attack and helped get legislation passed that brought compensation to the victims and their families. While her actions did not contribute directly to more preparedness plans for Tokyo, they did bring continued attention to the event and likely helped to inadvertently push for improved preparedness.

Tokyo Subway Sarin Attack

Tokyo Police worked to figure out the nature of the chemical used, but initially misidentified it3. They eventually found it to be Sarin, but there was no clear chain of communication between authorities and healthcare workers; workers only found out when it was broadcasted on the news. The lines of communication still need to be improved, but authorities run drills now to better prepare for dissemination of information and how to act. To better improve responses to future attacks, drills should be run with multiple organizations, so as to test the ability of communication.

First Responders and EMTs were sent to the main attack site3; however, due to train movement and doors opening at platforms, the Sarin gas spread throughout multiple stations. Because of the lack of available ambulances, patients who needed immediate care waited longer. Because of the hierarchy within Japanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s healthcare system, EMTs were not allowed to perform fewer without a physicianâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s orders; had this been changed, there could have been less casualties. Also, the system for dispatching ambulances did not account for the other stations; in response, the system for dispatching vehicles was adjusted and the use of newer technology allows for tracking of where ambulances are needed most and who to send.

Hospitals in the area took in patients affected by the attacks, with St. Paulâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s in Tokyo handling the most2. The care of patents was difficult initially because the cause for respiratory issue was not known. After learning that it was Sarin gas, hospitals relied on knowledge from a professor to help treat patients, as care for Sarin exposure was not widely known. There was not enough Sarin antidote when the attacks happened, which has now been remedied by the addition of medical supply storage located in central areas for disaster events to access.

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Tokyo Subway Sarin Attack

How? Knowledge and tools utilized

St. Paulâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Hospital admitted and cared for the most victims and was able to handle the increased capacity because of an existing disaster preparedness plan2. Emergency treatment sites near stations helped victims receive care and brought physicians into the field.

Knowledge and tool gaps

Communication between police and hospital workers was not effective or efficient. Also, ambulances were not dispatched evenly across stations where victims were, meaning victims were left to find a way on their own to help.

Poison information was not readily available and EMTs did not have comprehensive knowledge of nerve agents.

Who? Who responded? Could the response team have been augmented to facilitate a more successful response?

Following the attacks, police, EMTs, taxis, and medical workers responded to victims.

Police response was not initially accurate during the identification of the situation, leading to a delay in proper treatment of patients.

EMTs helped erect temporary treatment sites near the attack site; this happened to slowly and the victims worst affected were already at hospitals. The triage system also did not account for symptoms getting progressively worse after initial meeting with HCP, meaning some patients were marked as moderate when arriving at a hospital, but their condition had already worsened.

Taxis picked up victims from the attack and helped transport to hospitals; if there was a way to organize taxis to use them as secondary medical transport, through a call system, patients could have been more evenly distributed in hospitals.

Medical workers in hospitals were exposed second hand to Sarin through victims clothing. If patients had been decontaminated before entering, HCP wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have been affected as much.

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case studies sources Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans, LA American Red Cross. (2016, March 28). Red Cross Helps When Disaster Strikes. Retrieved from American Red Cross.

Census Bureau. (2015, July 29). Hurricane Katrina . Retrieved from United States Census Bureau.

FEMA. (n.d.). Mississippi Hurricane Katrina: A Decade of Progress through Partnerships. FEMA. Habitat for Humanity. (2005). USA: Habitat for Humanity plans ‘Operation Home Delievery’ for hurricane victimes. USA: Relief Web. IOM (Institute of Medicine). (2007). Enviornmental Public Health Impacts of Disasters: Hurricane Katrina. Washington, DC: The National Academies PRess.

Plyer, A. (2016, Aug 26). Facts for Features: Hurricane Katrina.

Retrieved from The Data Center.` Water Crisis, Flint, MI City of Flint News. “City of Flint Awards ReCAST Grants to 11 Community Partners.” City of Flint, City of Flint, Michigan.

Heard-Garris, Nia Jenee, et al. “Voices from Flint: Community Perceptions of the Flint Water Crisis.” Journal of Urban Health (2017).

Ruckart, Perri Zeitz MPH; Ettinger, Adrienne S. ScD, MPH, MS; Hanna-Attisha, Mona MD, MPH; Jones, Nicole PhD; Davis, Stephanie I. MSPH; Breysse, Patrick N. PhD The Flint Water Crisis: A Coordinated Public Health Emergency Response and Recovery Initiative, Journal of Public Health Management and Practice: January/February 2019 - Volume 25 - Issue - p S84-S90 The Virginia Tech Research Team. “Flint Water Study Updates”, 2015.

United States Census Bureau. Flint City, Michigan. 1 July 2019.

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Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting, Newtown, CT 1. Newtown, R. Anderson et al, In Sixty Minutes, Dec 16 2012.

2. State’s Attorney’s Report on Sandy Hook Elementary School Shootings, The New York Times, Dec 14 2012.

3. NRA’s Response to Sandy Hook: Federally Funded Police in Schools, W. Lapierre, New American, Jan 21 2013.

4. Clues Hint at School Shooter’s State of Mind, T. El-Ghobashy et al, The Wall Street Journal, Dec 18 2012.

5. The 2012 sandy hook elementary school shooting: Connecticut’s department of mental health crisis response, P. DiLeo et al, Journal of School Violence, Nov 22 2017.

6. Jacobs, Karrie. “Sandy Hook Rebuilds.” Architectmagazine.com, 23 Aug. 2016.

Tokyo Subway Sarin Attack, Tokyo, Japan 1. CNA Insider, director. Tokyo’s Fateful Sarin Gas Attack in 1995.

Tokyo’s Fateful Sarin Gas Attack in 1995 | One Day That Changed Asia, CNA Insider, 20 Feb. 2020.

2. Okumura, Tetsu, et al. “The Tokyo Subway Sarin Attack: Disaster Management, Part 2: Hospital Response.” Academic Emergency Medicine, vol. 5, no. 6, 1998, pp. 618–624.

3. Okumura, Tetsu, et al. “The Tokyo Subway Sarin Attack: Disaster Management, Part 1: Community Emergency Response.” Academic Emergency Medicine, vol. 5, no. 6, 1998, pp. 613–617.

4. Okumura, T, et al. “The Tokyo Subway Sarin Attack—Lessons Learned.” Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology, vol. 207, no.

2, 2005, pp. 471–476.

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community + resilience paper Abstract The ideas of community and resilience are closely tied together. It is important to recognize the influence of social relationships between community members and how that can positively influence the recovery efforts following a hazard event. Communities that are resilient have a stronger understanding of where needs are for the population and actively work to help residents overcome problems before they become serious. By involving community members into disaster and resilience planning, communities can better educate and prepare themselves in the case of emergency.

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Community + Resilience Paper

Introduction

Figure 1: Billion Dollar Climate Disasters from NOAA

Communities need to have disaster plans in place to prepare for hazard events. As climate change affects the planet, more extreme natural disasters will occur at higher frequency. As the sea level continues to rise and the waters warm, risk of flooding increases and cyclones are more destructiveâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;with winds becoming 5-10% faster and an increase of 20-30% in more precipitation (van Aalst, 13-16). According to NOAA, there is an increase in the number and cost of damage from climate disaster events; From 2015-2019, there were 10 or more billion-dollar disaster events in the United States, with 2019 having 14 alone (Smith).

Communities also have to account with human-made disasters, such as mass shootings. Over time, mass shootings have become more common and more deadly, with incidents doubling from 2000-2007 to 2008-2015 (Reynolds); the chart to the right shows the increase in deaths from mass shootings since 1982. It takes time for communities to recover from tragic events caused by humans.

Figure 2: Mass Shooting Fatalities from CATO at Liberty

In order to guarantee the survival of cities and the people within them, the idea of community resilience must be understood. It is important to recognize how community relationships impact the recovery of a place in distress and how those connections can help the recovery process be more efficient and successful. In this paper, the concepts of community and resilience are discussed in order to explain the importance of community resilience.

Community Community is both a shared physical environment that people inhabit, and the relationships and social connections that form between residents. It is important to acknowledge that community is an ensemble concept; it is as much about physicality of place as well as human behavior and interactions (National Research Council, 55).

Community is shaped by the history, culture, and socioeconomics of a place. Under these influences, the residents will continue to write the story of their community and build the identity of the space.

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Community + Resilience Paper

History of a community can explain changes in population composition and the circumstances of residents (National Research Council, 57). Understanding how past events have shifted the physical and social environment can help residents and local groups work to bridge any gaps that may exist in a community. Therefore, acknowledging the past, even as a painful reminder, can push a community forward to improve and grow.

A communityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s culture is a result of the individualâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s living within.

Culture can be influenced by individuals in a community and their unique backgrounds (Masolo, 33). Religion can form smaller culture groups in a larger community. The cultural customs of both local and immigrant residents combine to create a unique mix of ideologies, beliefs, and practices that form a larger communitywide culture.

The socioeconomic status of a community affects outside perception of a place. As a whole, people of higher socioeconomic standing are more satisfied with their community, but this can be attributed to the larger selection of communities to choose from; however, people of all statuses benefit and are satisfied when living in a socioeconomically diverse community (Hannscott). In the UK, communities with more racial diversity have higher social cohesion and a greater tolerance for differences (University of Manchester).

The physical environment also shapes the relationships in a community. The social spaces that are provided by the environment allow for informal contacts happen, and possibly evolve into acquaintances and friends. If one has formed relationships with the people around them, they feel more tied to their community and space. Within the urban context, shared physical spaces can help promote interaction between residents in a shared community. For example, the more enjoyable an outdoor space is, the more it is used by community members for leisure activities (Life Between Buildings, 11).

Communities are social in natureâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;the communication between residents builds strength, and ultimately resilience. Two important concepts that bolster community are social infrastructure and social capital.

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Social Infrastructure Social infrastructure is an important part of a community’s toolkit to foster stronger interpersonal relationships. Social infrastructure can be defined as “the physical places and organizations that shape the way people interact” (Klinenberg, 5). An obvious example is the public library; here, any member of the community can occupy space with or without purpose and interact with others.

Figure 3: Social Infrastructure via Civitasim.com

By providing spaces for social interaction, such as libraries and sidewalk cafes, residents can see community members and begin to form relationships. Without these spaces, forming relationships becomes harder and social groups are much smaller. An example of the importance of social infrastructure on a community presented itself during the Chicago Heat Wave of 1995. Social isolation and poor community relationships contributed to death rates regardless of the economic standing of a neighborhood; the presence of social infrastructure in neighborhoods correlated with lower death rates (Klinenberg, 7). When there is an environment that helps build relationships within a community, it helps to build the social capital needed to ensure all residents receive the help they need.

Social Capital Social capital is what makes a community a place that people want to live in. Specifically, it is the “networks of relationships between people…that provide them with access to resources (Fedders, 3).” Social capital and social infrastructure work hand in hand, benefiting each other and the communities they affect.

Figure 4: Social capital via sogrow.co.uk/

People who are socially isolated are deprived of human connection and instead faced with loneliness. Those who perceive they are more socially isolated often have health issues such as depression (Hawthorne, 147). In order to help create a healthy community, opportunities for social participation need to be present. In a survey of senior residents in the Itabashi Ward in Tokyo, respondents that were not isolated participated in social activities (such as hobby and sport groups); the involvement in activity groups is also found to decrease the risk of functional disability (Ejiri, 5). Therefore, there is an increased motivation to create spaces that can hold social activities within a community to improve the health of residents.

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When people spend time enjoying comfortable and welcoming public spaces, they interact with other community members. This is shown on the diagram below, whereas people spend more time outside, they meet and talk more frequently with other people (Gehl, 13).

It’s important to understand that a physical environment’s design can encourage people to gather outside of private homes. Jan Gehl emphasizes the idea of a pedestrian friendly city being better for spontaneous interactions (Gehl, 119); instead of being a destination-driven driver, pedestrians can stop, look, chat, and enjoy their surroundings. The slower pace of the pedestrian city encourages the community relationships needed to have strong social capital. During times of crisis, people are more likely to reach out to someone they know and offer help; even in normal times, social capital could present itself as buying a neighbor’s drink when going for coffee. Smaller acts can turn into larger acts in times of need.

Eric Klinenberg notes how a network of churches in Houston came together to rebuild homes that had been damaged by flooding (Klinenberg, 187); despite not knowing families closely, the connections between the churches united an entire community to be resilient and survive following disaster. Therefore, a community does not have to have close ties between all members, but the network of connections can work together to help a larger population. Social resilience within a community is upheld by different levels within the individual, family, organization, and larger community (Integrated Approach); when those different social groups work together, surviving physical and psychological damage is possible (Pitrenaite-Zleniene, 3-5).

Resilience As defined by the American Psychological Association, resilience is “the process of adapting well in the face of adversity, trauma, tragedy, threats or even significant sources of stress.” However, resilience is a broad term that contains limitless definitions and determinants. Instead of attempting to adhere to this definition, it is productive to formulate an understanding of who is involved and what drives resilience through physiological and psychological understanding, and strategic planning and response.

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Figure 5: The relationship between number of outdoor activities and the frequency of interactions between people outside from Jan Gehl

Community + Resilience Paper

The UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, or UNDRR, determined those involved may include, but is not limited to the following: stake holders, local government decision makers, city officials, central and provincial governments, the private sector, civil society, nongovernmental organizations, community-based organizations, and reach institutions and institutions of higher learning.

Physiological Understanding of Resilience Keeping in mind Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, in order to define Resilience within a community structure one must address the fundamental needs necessary to be resilient.

Figure 6: Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

A community’s built environment is the foundation of resilience; it is made up of “man-made buildings and infrastructure stocks that constitute the physical, natural, economic, social, and cultural capital (Hollnagel).” Fundamentally, access to secure housing is required in order to begin actualizing resilience on an individual level. Within this category is the need for clean water, which takes shape within the physical environment through natural water and water sanitation plants. Additionally, identifying the proximity to grocery stores or markets within a community radius is important to acknowledge for both individual-level and community-level needs, as access affects the overall health and nutrition value available in an area. The community-level needs structure continues to expand as other physical needs are identified to be crucial to the operation or history of a city. This can include local government buildings, businesses that provide jobs, hospitals or healthcare facilities, and schools. Within the context of cities, cultural centers, such as churches, help to provide a social sense of place that can be essential.

These all work together towards the common goal of self-fulfillment but the complexity of cities, depending on size, population, and density, plays a role in resilience factors (Hollnagel). Determinants of physical resilience rely on the maintenance of structures, longevity of buildings, and historic preservation. Therefore, sustainability through “the adaptation to ongoing and future unknown changes” maintains resilience in different communities (Hollnagel). Overall, to analyze a framework of resilience on an individual and community scale, there must be a set of physical components established that provide the basic human needs.

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Psychological Understanding of Resilience From a psychological standpoint, resilience has a number of determinants that interact with one another and ultimately impact how a person may respond to stressful events, including biological, psychological, social, and cultural factors (Southwick).

Addressing each of these factors is an important step toward building a comprehensive definition. A person may or may not be predisposed to certain reactions or mindsets as a result of their biological traits that can then inhibit one’s ability to successfully process information. For example, the Hurricane Katrina disaster garnered “distrust amongst the government by racial and ethnic minority groups creates barriers when adherence to government officials may be essential for protection and safety” (Institute of Medicine).

Similarly, social factors and cultural practices creates discrepancies within a city on how an individual views resilience.

One commonality across these variations of mindset is the concept of “meaning-making.” This idea provides a prospective on resilience that all people, despite their differences, inherently hope that life makes sense despite adversity. The social ecology of this concept boils down to the need of studying how resources in the social, economic, cultural, or political environment may aid resilience on an individual or family-level.

Interventions have become a crucial part of developing resources that promote an even playing field for individuals. “Building robust structures in society that provide people with the wherewithal to make a living, secure housing, access good education and health care, and realize their human potential” (Southwick), is a measurement that looks beyond measurement of “success” and instead focuses on actualizing the basic needs of individuals.

The point of view is still rather ill-defined, as it begins to lay out a framework to understand the complex nature of resilience but does not provide specifications. Researchers have examined the importance of continued research in order to empirically develop definitions for resilience. Additionally, determinants of resilience are dependent on context and individualized challenges. These variations create gaps within communities on how resilience may be specifically achieved, therefore laying out a set of principles for resilience can be hindrance for success.

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Strategic Planning and Response In contrast, the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction began to strategically outline ten essentials steps to aid resilience within a city in preparation and response to disasters, which can be the most common barrier for community-level resilience. These ideas were separated into three categories: governance and financial capacity; planning and disaster preparation; and disaster response and post-disaster recovery. In Figure 7, these categories are broken down to include each of the ten essential aids.

Figure 7: The Ten Essentials for making cities resilient via United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction

This framework attempts to provide an approach that can be applicable to various community structures and contexts. Context is an important consideration for measurement through social and environmental conditions. Although these steps can help to promote resilience in cities, “protective factors do not create resilience in all cases” (Fleming). Instead, this process may be viewed to initiate responses from individuals and communities.

Responses from strategic plans such as the ten essentials help to build a positive self-imagine, reduce the effect of risk, and can break down “a negative cycle in order to open new opportunities for the individual” (Fleming).

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Community Resilience Communities with strong social capital and infrastructure in place are more likely to survive a disaster event (Fedders, 3).

Residents of a community can feel such a deep connection and sense of identity with their community that they will rebuild despite destruction (Vale, 4). Thinking of contemporary examples, New York following the 9/11 terror attacks worked to rehabilitate and rebuild rather than abandon the city, and New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina working to repair and plan to prevent more destruction. In the contemporary world, the idea of the city helps bind it together. The community between buildings helps to promote resilience; the relationships between residents allows for the survival of the city.

As towns and cities move to prepare in the event of a disaster, the importance of community is more obvious than ever. In Taiwan, there is a move toward considering a “community-centric grassroots approach” to disaster response (Chou, 1). While there is still a larger disaster preparedness plan for these communities, the inclusion of community members helps residents feel involved in their futures. Communities with strong social capital and community involvement are key for community-based disaster prevention to be effective.

Conclusion Although strategic measurements create a baseline for action planning, there is no absoluteness to resilience. Researchers described the need to alter verbiage when discussing resilience and move towards using “qualifiers such as ‘relative’ and ‘variable’ to describe the process rather than any term that might imply absoluteness” (Fleming). A psychological understanding and strategic plan go together in the process of resilience because of the need to adapt. In order to move forward with any strategic plan, knowledge of the individual and specified adversities within complex community systems is needed to move towards successful implementation. The way a suburban middle-income family may perceive disaster may involve an entirely different response than that of an inner-city low-income family.

When planning for community resilience, the community itself is the most important factor. The community shapes how resources are built, supplied, and distributed in the event of a disaster or event, therefore promoting adaptable resources and solutions that can evolve with communities is how resilience may be achieved.

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Figure 8: Community Resilience via LA Resilience

Community + Resilience Bibliography

Bibliography Alberto Celani et al 2018 IOP Conf. Ser.: Mater. Sci. Eng. 365 022062 Start The idea of Smart and Sustainable are trending topics in the current literature. The idea of Resilience is for sure a component to be considered in the design of modern cities. This paper, after having considered the state of the art, analyses the relationships and the evolution of the idea of smart, sustainable and the possible evolution of the topics connected with Resilience in the smart sustainable city. The paper considers the strong link between the sectors of Science that are considering Resilience as a part of their current research, reading the components of it according to the Architectonic paradigms. The definition of the role of the modern Architect and of the modern Architecture in connection with the other disciplines is a core part of the publication. The framework of the document is the definition of the potential of interaction of the figure of the Architect with the other scientists in a pervasive set of theories that affect the modern city. The paper defines also the idea that is not fully considered the impact on the Urbanism, traditionally led by Architects, of the IT technologies on the built environment. Opportunities and treats deriving from a not-governed set of processes linked to the Urban areas.

Amaratunga, Dilanthi & Sridarran, Pournima & Haigh, Richard.

(2019). Making Cities Resilient Report 2019 : A snapshot of how local governments progress in reducing disaster risks in alignment with the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction.

This paper reviews what local governments in more than 50 cities are doing with regard to disaster risk reduction. It draws on the reports of their participation in the global Making Cities Resilient Campaign and its 10 â&#x20AC;&#x153;essentialâ&#x20AC;? components, and on interviews with city mayors or managers.

These show how resilience to disasters is being conceived and addressed by local governments, especially with regard to changes in their institutional framework and engagement with communities and other stakeholders, also in mobilizing finance, undertaking multi-hazard risk assessments, upgrading informal settlements, adjusting urban planning and implementing building codes. The paper summarizes what city mayors or managers view as key milestones for building resilience, and further discusses their evaluation of the usefulness of the campaign to them. It also discusses how a local government-focused perspective on disaster risk reduction informs our understanding of resilience. This includes how development can contribute much to disaster risk reduction as well as a more tangible and operational understanding of resilience (resistance + coping capacity + recovery + adaptive capacity) that local governments can understand and act on.

Chou, J., Wu, J. Success factors of enhanced disaster resilience in urban community. Nat Hazards 74, 661â&#x20AC;&#x201C;686 (2014). https://doiorg.www2.lib.ku.edu/10.1007/s11069-014-1206-4

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Ejiri M, Kawai H, Fujiwara Y, Ihara K, Watanabe Y, et al. (2019) Social participation reduces isolation among Japanese older people in urban area: A 3-year longitudinal study. PLOS ONE 14(9): e0222887.

Fedders, Eric. “Quantifying the Importance of Social Infrastructure in Community Resilience using Social Capital.” Order No. 10813686 University of Kansas, 2018. Ann Arbor: ProQuest.

Web. 10 Sep. 2020.

Social capital is the networks of relationships between people of a specific area that provide them with access to resources and power. Social capital has been shown to have numerous benefits in a community during times of typical functioning through developing and providing a sense of community to the population, and post-disaster through people utilizing that sense of community through providing aid and resources to other community members. Social capital is often grown, and its benefits are often facilitated, through social infrastructure. Examples of social infrastructure include churches, libraries, museums, parks, and many more, all of which are often used to build networks and relationships, and to connect people. Social capital is a critical piece of what makes a community resilient to disasters.

However, social capital is typically omitted from quantitative realizations of community resilience.

This study provides a method of quantifying social capital as it is provided by social infrastructure and affiliated social organizations through the development of three indices which measure the importance of (1) the organization (Organization Social Capital Index), (2) the physical structure housing the organization (Building Social Capital Index), and (3) the interdependencies between the social organization with critical facilities (Critical Infrastructure Interdependency Index). Calculation and analysis of the three indices allow for prioritization of social infrastructure within a community, whether in typical functioning or the post-disaster setting.

Equations are developed initially, then adapted to fit three different phases of a hazard scenario, namely the pre-disaster conditions, the hazard event, and long-term community recovery. The indices are further exemplified to provide a method of measuring social capital facilitated through any type of community building (e.g. restaurant, police station, house).

Fleming, John, and Robert J Ledogar. “Resilience, an Evolving Concept: A Review of Literature Relevant to Aboriginal Research.” Pimatisiwin vol. 6,2 (2008): 7-23.

Resilience has been most frequently defined as positive adaptation despite adversity. Over the past 40 years, resilience research has gone through several stages. From an initial focus on the invulnerable or invincible child, psychologists began to recognize that much of what seems to promote resilience originates outside of the individual. This led to a search for resilience factors at the individual, family, community — and, most recently, cultural — levels. In addition to the effects that community and culture have on resilience in individuals, there is growing interest in resilience as a feature of entire communities and cultural groups.

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Contemporary researchers have found that resilience factors vary in different risk contexts and this has contributed to the notion that resilience is a process. In order to characterize the resilience process in a particular context, it is necessary to identify and measure the risk involved and, in this regard, perceived discrimination and historical trauma are part of the context in many Aboriginal communities. Researchers also seek to understand how particular protective factors interact with risk factors and with other protective factors to support relative resistance. For this purpose they have developed resilience models of three main types: “compensatory,” “protective,” and “challenge” models. Two additional concepts are resilient reintegration, in which a confrontation with adversity leads individuals to a new level of growth, and the notion endorsed by some Aboriginal educators that resilience is an innate quality that needs only to be properly awakened.

The review suggests five areas for future research with an emphasis on youth: 1) studies to improve understanding of what makes some Aboriginal youth respond positively to risk and adversity and others not; 2) case studies providing empirical confirmation of the theory of resilient reintegration among Aboriginal youth; 3) more comparative studies on the role of culture as a resource for resilience; 4) studies to improve understanding of how Aboriginal youth, especially urban youth, who do not live in self-governed communities with strong cultural continuity can be helped to become, or remain, resilient; and 5) greater involvement of Aboriginal researchers who can bring a nonlinear world view to resilience research.

Gehl, Jan, et al. Life Between Buildings: Using Public Space, Island Press, 2011. ProQuest Ebook Central, 1. Life Between Buildings.

Hannscott, Lauren. “Individual and Contextual Socioeconomic Status and Community Satisfaction.” Urban Studies 53.8 (2016): 1727-744. Web. Hassler, Uta, and Niklaus Kohler. “Resilience in the Built Environment.” Building Research & Information, vol. 42, no. 2, Mar. 2014, EBSCOhost, doi:10. 1080/09613218.2014.873593 Hawthorne, Graeme. “Perceived Social Isolation in a Community Sample: Its Prevalence and Correlates with Aspects of Peoples’ Lives.” Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology 43.2 (2008): 140-50. Web.

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Herrman, Helen, et al. “What Is Resilience?” The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, vol. 56, no. 5, May 2011, pp. 258–265, doi:10.1177/070674371105600504.

While everyone—including front-line clinicians—should strive to prevent the maltreatment and other severe stresses experienced by many children and adults in everyday life, psychiatrists and other health professionals also need to consider how best to support, throughout the lifespan, those people affected by severe adversity. The first step in achieving this is a clear understanding of the definitions and concepts in the rapidly growing study of resilience. Our paper reviews the definitions of resilience and the range of factors understood as contributing to it, and considers some of the implications for clinical care and public health.

Hollnagel, Erik. “Resilience Engineering and the Built Environment.” Building Research & Information, vol.42, no.2, Mar.2014, pp.221-228. EBSCOHOST, doi:10.1080/09613218.2014.86207 Institute of Medicine (US) Roundtable on Environmental Health Sciences, Research, and Medicine. Environmental Public Health Impacts of Disasters: Hurricane Katrina: Workshop Summary.

Washington (DC): National Academies Press (US); 2007.

Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK54240/ doi: 10.17226/11840 Klinenberg, Eric. Palaces for the People : How Social Infrastructure Can Help Fight Inequality, Polarization, and the Decline of Civic Life. First ed. 2018. Print.

In Palaces for the People, Eric Klinenberg suggests a way forward. He believes that the future of democratic societies rests not simply on shared values but on shared spaces: the libraries, childcare centers, churches, and parks where crucial connections are formed. Interweaving his own research with examples from around the globe, Klinenberg shows how “social infrastructure” is helping to solve some of our most pressing societal challenges. Richly reported and ultimately uplifting, Palaces for the People offers a blueprint for bridging our seemingly unbridgeable divides.

Masolo, Dismas A. “Community, identity and the cultural space”, Rue Descartes, vol. 36, no. 2, 2002, pp. 19-51.

National Research Council. 2002. Community and Quality of Life: Data Needs for Informed Decision Making. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.

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Pitrenaite-Zleniene, Birute, and Fabrizio Torresi. “Integrated Approach to a Resilient City: Associating Social, Environmental and Infrastructure Resilience in its Whole.” European Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies 6.2 (2014): 1-13. ProQuest. Web. 10 Sep. 2020.

Rising complexity, numbers and severity of natural and manmade disasters enhance the importance of reducing vulnerability, or on contrary - increasing resilience, of different kind of systems, including those of social, engineering (infrastructure), and environmental (ecological) nature.

The goal of this research is to explore urban resilience as an integral system of social, environmental, and engineering resilience. This report analyses the concepts of each kind of resilience and identifies key factors influencing social, ecological, and infrastructure resilience discussing how these factors relate within urban systems. The achievement of resilience of urban and regional systems happens through the interaction of the different elements (social, psychological, physical, structural, and environmental, etc.); therefore, resilient city could be determined by synergy of resilient society, resilient infrastructure and resilient environment of the given area.

Based on literature analysis, the current research provides some insights on conceptual framework for assessment of complex urban systems in terms of resilience. To be able to evaluate resilience and define effective measures for prevention and risk mitigation, and thereby strengthen resilience, we propose to develop an e-platform, joining risk parameters’ Monitoring Systems, which feed with data Resiliency Index calculation domain. Both these elements result in Multirisk Platform, which could serve for awareness and shared decision making for resilient people in resilient city.

Renschler, C. et al. “A Framework for Defining and Measuring Resilience at the Community Scale: The PEOPLES Resilience Framework.” (2010).

The objective of this research was to establish a holistic framework for defining and measuring disaster resilience for a community at various scales. Seven dimensions characterizing community functionality have been identified and are represented by the acronym PEOPLES: Population and Demographics, Environmental/Ecosystem, Organized Governmental Services, Physical Infrastructure, Lifestyle and Community Competence, Economic Development, and Social-Cultural Capital. The proposed PEOPLES Resilience Framework provides the basis for development of quantitative and qualitative models that measure continuously the functionality and resilience of communities against extreme events or disasters in any or a combination of the above-mentioned dimensions. Over the longer term, this framework will enable the development of geospatial and temporal decision-support software tools that help planners and other key decision makers and stakeholders to assess and enhance the resilience of their communities.

Reynolds, Alan. “Are Mass Shootings Becoming More Frequent?”

Cato Institute, 15 Feb. 2018, www.cato.org/blog/are-massshootings-becoming-more-frequent.

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Smith, Adam. “2010-2019: A Landmark Decade of U.S. BillionDollar Weather and Climate Disasters: NOAA Climate.gov.”

2010-2019: A Landmark Decade of U.S. Billion-Dollar Weather and Climate Disasters | NOAA Climate.gov, 8 Jan. 2020 Southwick, Steven M et al. “Resilience definitions, theory, and challenges: interdisciplinary perspectives.” European journal of psychotraumatology vol. 5 10.3402/ejpt.v5.25338. 1 Oct. 2014, doi:10.3402/ejpt.v5.25338 In this paper, inspired by the plenary panel at the 2013 meeting of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, Dr. Steven Southwick (chair) and multidisciplinary panelists Drs. George Bonanno, Ann Masten, Catherine Panter-Brick, and Rachel Yehuda tackle some of the most pressing current questions in the field of resilience research including: (1) how do we define resilience, (2) what are the most important determinants of resilience, (3) how are new technologies informing the science of resilience, and (4) what are the most effective ways to enhance resilience?

These multidisciplinary experts provide insight into these difficult questions, and although each of the panelists had a slightly different definition of resilience, most of the proposed definitions included a concept of healthy, adaptive, or integrated positive functioning over the passage of time in the aftermath of adversity. The panelists agreed that resilience is a complex construct and it may be defined differently in the context of individuals, families, organizations, societies, and cultures. With regard to the determinants of resilience, there was a consensus that the empirical study of this construct needs to be approached from a multiple level of analysis perspective that includes genetic, epigenetic, developmental, demographic, cultural, economic, and social variables. The empirical study of determinates of resilience will inform efforts made at fostering resilience, with the recognition that resilience may be enhanced on numerous levels (e.g., individual, family, community, culture)

The Resilient City: How Modern Cities Recover from Disaster, edited by Lawrence J. Vale, and Thomas J. Campanella, Oxford University Press, Incorporated, 2005. ProQuest Ebook Central, Introduction. van Aalst, Maarten K. “The Impacts of Climate Change on the Risk of Natural Disasters.” Disasters, vol. 30, no. 1, Mar. 2006, pp.

5–18. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1111/j.1467-9523.2006.00303.x.

University of Manchester. Ethnic Diversity Is Good for Your Health, Reveal Researchers, University of Manchester, 25 Jan. 2016.

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tactical urbanism project The second half of the semester was spent focusing on the development of a temporary design solution that promotes resilience, following the guidelines of the TerraViva’s “Tactical Urbanism Now!” competition.

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tactical urbanism case studies Better Block, Blackburn, OH Why: To physically and socially unite neighbors, small and large scale How: Including arts and cultural programming to existing public space made it more attractive and exciting, all in a cohesive color palette to unite the concept What: An event that included repainting a basketball court, installing movable furniture, a pop-up food stand, and lawn games So What? This transformed an existing green space within an urban context into the site of an exciting temporary event; this could be mirrored in the current situation easily because of ample outdoor space to spread out, while still maintaining visual and auditory connection to the community

Bison System, Divisadero Pop-Up Park Why: Takes over street parking space and gives it back to the pedestrian How: Helps create a soft barrier between pedestrians and vehicles and reinvents space is used for static cars into public seating space What: Raised platform (bringing to sidewalk level) modular system that creates a place to pause for pedestrians and city-goers So What? This is especially interesting given the pandemic, with many businesses/restaurants looking for solutions to activate outdoor space; this technology allows for businesses to sponsor space that can be used for to-go seating and by the public who might be interested in a business after passing by

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Bonfire Square Installation, China Why: Creates socially distant activity space to unite interest from young people and families.

How: Converts the existing space and reinvents it’s purpose to provide a playground and area for human activity.

What: Create dozens of circle/ square units with continuous frame by yellow scaffolding and colorful paint on the ground.

So What?: Similar concepts today are being introduced all over due to COVID-19, people want to be outside and have somewhere to go that they feel they may confidently be in the presence of other people while remaining safe, the existing space was not being utilized so it created the challenge of making something new and interest with what already exists.

Walala Parade, London Why: To revitalize a once-neglected public strip in London using art How: Art and culture engages the community and brightens public space.

What: Creates art pieces across the facade of 8 different buildings, community funded and approved.

So What?: Camille Walala noted that art and color have the power to spread positivity, especially at the scale of the street. When we move throughout cities that have several vacant store fronts or a monotone facade it can be easy to walk through or neglect the space, this idea was a great emergence of life and a sense of place.

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site analysis To better understand the context of our project, we looked into the larger context of St. Louis as well as the smaller scope of the Grand Center neighborhood.

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National Level

State Level

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City Level

neighborhood analysis Central West End Population: 14,593 Median Income: $85,021 Cultural Draws/ Attractions: Cathedral Basilica, Central West End mixed-use district

Shaw Population: 18,208 Median Income: $76,247 Cultural Draws/ Attractions: Missouri Botanical Gardens, Shaw Park

Downtown Population: 3,602 Median Income: $58,848 Cultural Draws/ Attractions: St. Louis Arch, Busch Stadium, Ballpark Village

Grand Center Population: 3,560 Median Income: $20,900 Cultural Draws/ Attractions: Fox Theater, Powell Hall, Pulitzer Arts Foundation

PROSPECTIVE SITES When deciding

which neighborhood to focus on, we wanted to choose a place withSHAW cultural attractions that could serve as CENTRAL WEST END DOWNTOWN starting point for our project.

Central West End, Shaw, and Population:a 14,593 Population: 18,208 Population: 3,602 Downtown St. LouisMedian all Income: have$76,247.00 interesting destinations Median Income: $85,021.28 Median Income:within $58,848.84 them, but they had less opportunities for improvement when compared Cultural Draws/ Attractions: Cultural Draws/ Attractions: Cultural Draws/ Attractions: Cathedral Basilica, Central West End Missouri Botanical Gardens, Shaw Park St. Louis Arch, Busch Stadium, Grand Center. It was important to us to choose a site that could mixed-useto district Ballpark Village not only improve the urban fabric, but also to close gaps and strengthen community resilience for residents in the neighborhood.

Grand Center has slowly been improving since the latter half of the 20th century with the growth of their Arts District, but the disparities in wealth and opportunities in comparison with other neighborhoods needed to be addressed. The neighborhood is diverse, with a mix of students, families, and seniors, providing an opportunity to unite a larger population.

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grand center: figure grounds To better understand the availability and proximity of different building uses, we created a set of figure ground maps. These help to visualize the concentrations of use types and locate possible places to connect different â&#x20AC;&#x153;zones.â&#x20AC;?

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Arts and Culture The Grand Center Arts District is concentrated along Lindell Ave (the southern edge of the neighborhood) and includes over 22 arts destinations.

Everything from art museums, to a symphony hall, to a circus are available to visit.

Education There are a number of schools within the neighborhood, from preschool, to private college prep, to an arts academy. St. Louis Universityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s campus is also directly south of the neighborhood, leading college students to visit and frequent places in the neighborhood.

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Figure Grounds

Green Space + Parking This map highlights the overwhelming amount of underutilized land. The green space can provide space for residents to access nature, but the excess of surface parking lots do not make for enjoyable journey to green space and attractions. The open space negatively contributes to the heat island effect of the neighborhood.

Residential While Grand Center is known for its arts attractions, there are still people living in the area.

There is a diverse mix between college students in the south, families with children to the east, and older families to the north. To further develop the neighborhoodâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s potential, it is vital to draw more people to the area. With not even 4,000 residents, it is hard to support business growth, especially during off seasons of arts productions.

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Figure Grounds

Vacancies Grand Center has not been spared from failed â&#x20AC;&#x153;urban renewalâ&#x20AC;? projects, with much of the residential buildings being abandoned or demolished, leaving behind vacant buildings and lots. This negatively affects residents who live in the north of the neighborhood, largely Black families.

Vacant Building Possible Vacant Building Vacant Lot Possible Vacant Lot Parking Lot

Transit Access The neighborhood has good access to transit, with four different major routes passing through as well as a MetroLink (train) stop less than a mile from the southern boundary.

The transit is necessary to get to jobs and shopping outside of the neighborhood.

0.6 miles

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grand center: snapshots Fox Theatre The venue where traveling musicals and theater performances perform.

Continental Life Building Left, An Art Deco skyscraper that has been converted into luxury residential lofts.

St. Francis Xavier College Church Right, A Catholic church built in 1836.

Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis An art museum with rotating exhibits; shares a connecting courtyard with the Pulitzer Arts Foundation, another art museum.

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Strauss Park A small pocket park that can host small outdoor concerts and is located next to Jazz St. Louis.

Powell Hall The home of the St. Louis Symphony, a Grammy Awardwinning orchestra.

Brick Housing Stock The neighborhoodâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s housing stock reminds visitors of the past life of the area, but also hints at the negative effects felt by white flight and urban renewal.

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grand center: community Median Income

$42,000

3,560 residents $20.9k median income 49.8% population below poverty line

$20,900

Grand Center Chart Title

Community Engagement The many arts and culture institutions bring visitors into the neighborhood, nearing two million annually. There are also architectural walking tours, restaurants, and special events outside of dedicated halls. The SLSO provides outreach across the city through free concerts, volunteering at schools, and the IN UNISON choir that performs music centering on African and AfricanAmerican culture.

The Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis provides opportunities and assistance to African American and other community members.

St. Louis City

Race Black 26%

White Asian Hispanic

63%

7%

Mixed 1%

Other

2% 1%

Chart Title

Education

23%

30%

Higher Degree High School Diploma

The Gateway Greening Demonstration Garden provides education on urban agriculture and growing food at home.

No Diploma

47%

Chart Title

Age

4% 2%

6%

0-9 years 10-17 years

12%

9%

18-21 years 9%

22-29 years 30-39 years

10%

40-49 years

7%

27%

50-59 years 60-69 years

15%

70-79 years 80+ years

Chart Title

Housing

20% Owner-Occupied Housing Renter-Occupied Housing

80%

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Culture Grand Center has a history of being a center for the arts and culture. In the early 20th century, it was a hub for movie-goers and music-buffs; itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s destination status declined as the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s population moved to the suburbs during the height of white flight. Later, in 1968, the STL Symphony (SLSO) revealed the renovated Powell Hall and the refurbished Fox Theater reopened bringing a new wave of life to the Arts District. Now there are over 22 different arts destinations in the greater neighborhood.

To the south of the neighborhood lies St. Louis University, a private Catholic University with research programs and a teaching hospital in the city.

Grand Center attracts crowds of students and St. Louisians alike with the different musicals, performances, and museums.

The cultural attractions are concentrated in the south part of the neighborhood and are usually activated only on event nights.

Transit Grand Center has plenty of bus stops but is one mile from the MetroLink (train) stop and accessing it involves crossing heavy traffic. There is a bus that runs down Grand Avenue toward the MetroLink station and it runs on 20 minute intervals.

Grand Center

St. Louis City

transit to work

transit to work

12% 0.6 miles

14.8% walk to work

9%

4.8%

walk to work

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ECONOMY grand center: economy Housing Ownership

Market Trends HOUSING OWNERSHIP Recent growthData in from mortgage lending US Census Bureau has lowered, as per capita home mortgage debt increased by only 1.7% in seven years.

MARKET TRENDS Missouri

Missouri St. Louis Recent growth in mortgage lending has lowered, as per capita home mortgage debt increased by Grand Center only 1.7% in seven years.

Annual growth of 0.2%, which is slower than the rate of growth in income and housing prices.

St. Louis

Grand Center

Annual growth of 0.2%, which is slower than0.00% the rate of20.00% growth in 40.00% income and housing prices.

Renter Occupied

60.00%

80.00%

Owner0.00% Occupied

100.00%

20.00%

40.00%

Data from US Census Bureau Renter Occupied

80.00%

100.00%

Owner Occupied

HOUSING FIGURES

Housing Costs Index

60.00%

Data from US Census Bureau

Grand Center

St. Louis

Missouri

National

$94,067

$120,900

$141,120

$184,700

$855.30

$1,254

$1,272.32

$759

$759

$949

Home Price Avg. Mortgage Payment Apartment Rent

$793

Data from US Census Bureau

CONSTRUCTION COSTS

Construction Costs Construction costs are much more important determinants of house price trends than either credit conditions or Construction costs are new much more important determinants of the cost of residential construction increased house price expectations, home prices have increased 29% while house price trends than either credit conditions or house price 23% expectations, new home prices have increased 29% while the cost of residential construction increased 23%

GREEN LEASING Green Leasing

Clean Energy Financing program was expanded in 2017 to

include residential buildings, this is known as Set The Pace St. Clean Energy Financing program was expandedLouis, in 2017 to include which promotes buildings to undertake energy efficiency residential buildings, this is known as Set The Pace St. Louis, which and seek renewable energy improvements. promotes buildings to undertake energy efficiency and seek renewable energy improvements.

St. Louis Greenand Building standard requires all newly constructed St. Louis Green Building standard requires all newly constructed renovated city-owner facilities to meet the LEED and silverrenovated level of certification. city-owner facilities to meet the LEED silver level of certification.

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Neighborhood Vacancies Vacant Building Possible Vacant Building Vacant Lot Possible Vacant Lot Parking Lot

6.7%

Unemployment Rate

19%

Grand Center residents that work within the Healthcare systems in St. Louis

Of the 2,031 existing units in Grand Center, 23% of units are currently unoccupied. St. Louis ranks among the highest rates of vacancy among metropolitan areas. Vacancies can lead to reduced property rates, increased crime, public health related risks, and weather related damages. Additionally, a majority of the homes built in Grand Center were constructed before 1939, which can lead to greater liability and risk of condemned sites.

Employment Compared to similarly sized regions, the cost of doing business in St. Louis is significantly lower and has been ranked the 9th most cost-competitive large metro area to conduct business in. (RE/MAX Results)

ST. LOUIS AREA LARGEST EMPLOYER Data from STL Business Journal, 206 Book of Lists

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grand center: wellness Obesity + Health 15.4% of St. Louis’ population has a disability. In the City of St. Louis, 60.9% of adults are overweight. In the state of Missouri, 10.4% of Adults have diabetes.

In Missouri, allergies are triggered by mold, grass, and weed and tree pollens; The rates for asthma are 9.7% for adults and 11.2% for children. Only 58.9% of days have an AQI of “Good.”

Mental + Behavioral Health In the BJC Community Health Needs Assessment, it is found that mental healthcare is of the utmost priority for healthcare in the St. Louis area. Currently, the barriers preventing easy access to care include: affordability, accessibility, availability, negative experiences/stigma, and navigation.

Violence may be linked to issues of mental health such as trauma, stress and depression. The presence of violence can make existing conditions worsen. In Grand Center, crime has decreased in the previous 6 months.

2.9% Vision

6.8% Cognitive

3.4% Hearing

9.2% Ambulatory

Behavioral Health Daignoses in ED for Zipcodes in Grand Center

1.1% 114

Substance Abuse

0.4% 34.75

Episodic Mood Disorder

0.7%

Schizophrenia

64.5

2.3%

Mental Illness 0

50

100

Rates/10,000

Fitness and Active Design Grand Center is the 6th most walkable neighborhood in St. Louis City. On show nights, the neighborhood is alive with people on the streets and in restaurants.

However, the area covered by parking lots behind Grand Boulevard is not interesting and feels unsafe when walking through. The neighborhood lacks elements of an interesting walk and instead is covered by swaths of asphalt that remain empty while people are at work and shows haven’t started.

The neighborhood would be improved by making main streets more pedestrian friendly.

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surface and garage lots behind Fox Theatre 66

150

200

225.25

250

23.3%

of individuals in Saint Louis are food uncertain

1

grocery store

3

community gardens

22

restaurants

Nutrition + Food Access In Missouri, 39.9% of adults consumer less than one piece of fruit a day and 16.9% of adults consume less than one vegetable a day.

Having access to healthy and affordable food options can help fill the nutrition needs of a community.

While Grand Center has over 22 restaurants, it only has one grocery store, Save A Lot, a discount grocer with a limited selection. When produce selection is small and fast food is easier, community members may choose the unhealthier option. As shown in the map, all of Grand Center is low income (meaning the median income is less than 80% of the overall city and the poverty rate is higher than 20%); the majority of the neighborhood also lacks a grocery store within easy walking distance. The combination means that healthy food is harder to access and gaps appear.

In St. Louis City, there is a high need for assistance with food insecurity. 23.3% of individuals in the county are food uncertain and 76.3% of those who qualify participate in assistance programs.

In Grand Center, there are two urban agriculture farms: Bell Community Garden and Sallyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Rooftop Garden.

The Gateway Greening Demonstration Garden also provides education on growing food at home or in a garden. Individual who volunteer there can take home food theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve harvested.

Grocery Store Urban Agriculture Restaurant

Low Income Low Income and Low Access at 0.5 Miles to Grocery Store

Economic Standing and Food Access

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grand center: climate + change Carbon Exchange

CHANGE TEMPERATURES CARBON EXCHANGE The Climate Action and Adaptation Plan was created to build an energy efficient city that achieves an emissions reduction of 80% by 2050.

GHG Emissions Reductions Flooding + Extreme Weather Risk GHG Emissions Reductions

2-3 DAYS per year, currently

40 per

Number of days temperatures reaching 100 F

80%

GHG Emissions Remaining of emissions produced from sources within the built environment

GHG Emissions Remaining

Commerial

Residential

FLOODIN WEATHE

Industrial

Grand Center is not located in a position of risk for overflow from the CLIMATE ACTION PLAN Mississippi River or within the range of flooding devastation.

40%

In 2015, the St. Louis GHG Emissions Inventory reported the entire community of St. Louis was responsible for 7.2 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions, this was an 11% reduction from a 2005 baseline report.

in heavy rains are 40% increase projected over the next 20 years

Grand Center risk for overflo or within the ra

ADAPTIVE REUSE

Temperatures Number of days temperatures reaching 100 F URBAN RESILIENCE

Green Infrastructure and Rainscaping in St. Louis: $100 million agreement between Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District and the Environmental Protection Agency to alleviate Combined Sewer Overflow.

2-3 DAYS per year, 2020

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After sitting vacant for over a decade, the Woolworth Building has been historically reha the Boys and Girls Club, which will provide an opportunity to give back to the low-income A $21.4 million adaptive reuse project funded by The Lawrence Group, transformed two b into what is now the Grand Center Arts Academy

CHOICE Neighborhood is a federally funded program that focuses on transforming No new and restored affordable housing units, building a community center, promoting hom micro-lending.

40 DAYS per year, by 2100

Climate Action Plan In 2015, the St. Louis GHG Emissions Inventory reported the entire community of St. Louis was responsible for 7.2 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions, this was an 11% reduction from a 2005 baseline report.

The Climate Action and Adaptation Plan was created to build an energy efficient city that achieves an emissions reduction of 80% by 2050.

Urban Resilience Green Infrastructure and Rainscaping in St. Louis: $100 million agreement between Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District and the Environmental Protection Agency to alleviate Combined Sewer Overflow.

Adaptive Reuse After sitting vacant for over a decade, the Woolworth Building has been historically rehabbed to now be the home of the Boys and Girls Club, which will provide an opportunity to give back to the low-income families in the area.

A $21.4 million adaptive reuse project funded by The Lawrence Group, transformed two buildings from 1925 and 1929 into what is now the Grand Center Arts Academy.

CHOICE Neighborhood is a federally funded program that focuses on transforming North St. Louis City by creating new and restored affordable housing units, building a community center, promoting home ownership, and providing micro-lending.

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grand center: context Problem Statement To create a series of installations that activate public space, in a way that fosters the development of community engagement and unites diverse populations, so that the Grand Center neighborhood has effective resilience in times of socioeconomic need.

Key Performance Indicators Environmental % of area that is underutilized and unshaded Wellness % of people within Grand Center that experience poor mental health Socio-economic % of people within Grand Center that experience food insecurity Background Originally, Grand Center was the home of wealthy St. Louisans living in grand mansions. In the early 1900's, theaters popped up along Grand and promised entertainment and air conditioning-making them a popular place to visit. As street car lines expanded, wealthy residents moved west toward Central West End and Forest Park (the site of the 1904 Worlds Fair) and away from Grand Center. As city residents moved west to the suburbs, the area lost its attraction. The spirit of the arts district came back to life in 1968 when Powell Hall was deemed the home of the STL Symphony Orchestra, and the Fox Theatre reopened in 1982 after being refurbished. Grand Center has continued to attract arts organizations to the area and is designated a National Historic District, which helps attain funding for the repair and reuse of the area.

Currently, the neighborhood is a mix of SLU students and Black families. It is not a wealthy neighborhood, with the median income of $20,900 and 49.8% of individuals living below the poverty line.

It acts as a destination for residents of Greater St. Louis, but mainly for performances and festivals. Unlike the neighboring Central West End, Grand Center does not have as many retail and business outlets

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Overall Challenges An estimated 49.8% of residents in Grand Center live below the poverty line which creates financial instability, leaving the community at a disadvantage for future improvement and risk of low community resilience. While, specified information for the Grand Center neighborhood remains sparse, the 2018 US Census Data accounted for 2,031 and of that 23% of units are currently unoccupied. The majority of housing built in the area was before 1939 which leaves the neighborhood prone to several vacancies and risk of demolition. Additionally, due to the historic nature of the area, many properties are also susceptible to extreme weather risks and a lack of security. These factors aid in the decline of new residents and interest for new development.

Despite the housing challenges in Grand Center, it is a rich arts district that comes alive for events at the Fabulous Fox Theatre, Powell Symphony Hall, and the Pulitzer Arts Center. Foot traffic along Grand Boulevard, where the arts district resides, is constant during performance seasons but the area does not serve as an everyday destination for those outside of the neighborhood. Low activity levels on non-performance days therefore does not provide as much opportunity for local businesses to profit economically.

There is a lack of a sense of place for Grand Center, outside of the arts district. Destinations such as the Fabulous Fox Theater brings in visitors from outside of St. Louis City but on a typical day, there is a distinct divide between current residents, nearby university students, and families. From this divide, the challenge is creating a space that unites the existing history and culture of the neighborhood with the new spaces surrounding.

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choosing a site After exploring the strengths and weaknesses of Grand Center, we worked to choose a site that would most impact and positively benefit the community.

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site selection Site Selection Before deciding how to impact the community, it was necessary to choose a specific site. Option 1 is located near the Urban Metro League of St. Louis, an organization that helps Black St. Louisians. Option 2 is located in the parking lot of the Sheldon Galleries, an art gallery and performance hall. Option 3 is located on Grand Boulevard, next to Powell Hall and the VA Hospital.

1 3

2

GRAND CENTER COMMUNITY RESILIEN

Proposed Site 1

Sculpture Garden

2

Food Garden

3

Sound Space

VA Hospital

Arts District

Sites within the Neighborhood Fabric

Education

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Site Selection Option 1 This idea aims to create a spot for start-up businesses and eateries in the red zone, while allowing for open use of the existing green space. The goal is to draw visitors further into the neighborhood and away from Grand Boulevard.

Option 2 The location between two arts attractions helps to draw people to stay longer. This concept creates a sculpture garden space on top of the existing parking lot to tie into the arts.

Option 3 The third option is directly off of Grand Boulevard, allowing for visitors to stay in the core of the arts district. With this site, we would create a space with respite from the heat but tying into the idea of music.

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Bo ule va rd ar lm De Gra

nd B

oule

vard

Final Selection: Option 3 In order to take advantage of foot traffic from the different zones in Grand Center, we chose the third site directly off Grand Boulevard. Unlike the other options, this site was close to both the Arts District, as well as older populations at the VA Hospital and younger generations in the housing development to the east.

The site, situated on the corner of Delmar Boulevard and Grand Avenue, is located at the crossroads of the arts and the Delmar Divide (a historic racial divide). Currently, utilized as a parking lot, this site can be used to create meaning making, uniting the different populations within the neighborhood and the St. Louis metro area.

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Site Selection

Housing Development

The Moto Museum

Powell Symphony Hall Veterans Affairs Hospital

The Grandel Concert Hall Fox Theatre

Underutilized land Arts + Entertainment Family Housing Healthcare Facilities

Larger Context In order to understand the concept, it is important to know what surrounds the site. The third site location is placed between three uses: entertainment, residential, and medical. These uses are important to consider during the design process.

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design development While exploring how to best impact the community, our design went through many iterations. This was a new process as we had never focused on a project so temporary as well as so focused on the urban impact.

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first prototypes Scaffolding 1 Focusing on modularity, this concept uses a scaffolding system that leaves minimal impact on the site and the ability to interact with multiple levels. The three groups allow for different uses to happen simultaneously.

Scaffolding 2 The larger grouping of scaffolding work to create a unified space for the community to gather.

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Ribbon 1 Using organic form to create a mix of shading, green space, and water cut into the site.

Ribbon 2 Again, using organic form, but this iteration focuses on shading more area instead of integrating water.

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Ribbon 3 The third ribbon plays on the idea of a continuous ribbon, moving from the ground plane, to an overhead shading device.

Where canopy acts as â&#x20AC;&#x153;roof,â&#x20AC;? there is the opportunity to grow plants off it, like a trellis.

Dots To create a smaller impact on the site, this design involves painting the existing pavement and having seating, green space, and water cool down spots placed throughout the site. The street barrier is also clearly expressed with the container gardens along Grand Blvd and Jefferson Ave.

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First Prototypes

Staggered Stage To better engage with the existing pavement, this concept plays off hard surfaces. In order to grab the attention of visitors from every side, the stage is raised at various levels, allowing for different scales and exploration for visitors of all ages. This design also uses brick, playing off the importance of the material in St. Louis.

Canopy This concept places the shaded activity zones directly against Grand Blvd to attract visitors from the Arts District. The connection of rigid structure through a softer, fabric canopy symbolizes the connection between communities, while providing a space for performers to play.

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First Prototypes

Next Steps Following a review, it was decided to start narrowing down the ideas. Analyzing the prototypes based on our KPIs (judging heat island effect, mental health, and food insecurity), three concepts came out on top: Scaffolding 2, Canopy, and Scaffolding 1. Moving forward, we would try and combine those ideas while incorporating aspects we liked from the Ribbon concepts.

We also needed to continue considering what user groups we would target with our design. If the idea of unity was key, how could we embody that in one design across such a large site?

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second prototypes Large Scaffolding This prototype focuses on covering a large portion of the site in order to shade the land and rival the importance of other buildings on Grand Blvd.

Medium Scaffolding This concept tries to tie together the two cross streets, with an engaged southern edge to invite Arts Center visitors in, and an outstretched canopy toward the VA Hospital.

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Second Prototypes

Compact Scaffolding This idea tries to mimic the other large, solid forms along Grand Blvd, while also showing the â&#x20AC;&#x153;ribbonâ&#x20AC;? of orange canopy move through a larger form.

Music Visualization The scaffolding could be covered in a representation of music visualization. This could be for a specific song, or to mimic the form in general.

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Second Prototypes

Other Considerations It is important to account for the flow of people as well as vehicle traffic into the site. Would cars be able to occupy the same space as the pedestrian? How are different populations moving within and into the space?

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third prototype Car + Pedestrian Zone The third prototype focuses on the increased flexibility of use.

Instead of abandoning the siteâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s original purpose of a parking lot, our design started to create a from over the cars, providing shading during the day, and a gathering space after the work day ends and show on Grand Blvd start.

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Third Prototype

Heat Island Effect Shading from the canopy allows for covered parking throughout the main structure as well as the opportunity for solar panels.

Mental Health Our design follows the PTSD Design Guidelines, focusing on the following: regularity and similarity; coherent variation in color, using cool colors; simple and linear design that is easy to navigate; a connection to the natural world; and an emphasis on personal space.

Food Insecurity Small scale interventions that provide the opportunity for small vegetable garden boxes and space for mobile food trucks.

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Third Prototype

Structure: Metal Scaffolding Roof Flexible solar panels, fabric letting some light through Shading Screen Painted metal tubes, allowing for a “wind chime” effect Asphalt Acrylic paint to continue “ribbon” onto the ground plane Materiality Considerations The transparency of material influence on safety and perceived level of safety The site impact from scaffolding installation and if it is temporary.

How many occupiable parking spaces are there?

What will the environmental impact be--and how long will it last?

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fifth prototype Sound Concept The fifth iteration of our design starts to focus in on the main concept: sound. Sound elements are scattered across the site.

The pavilions have become smaller and a human scale, highlighting the shift to a purely pedestrian space. This holds true to our belief that tactical urbanism is reclaiming space for pedestrians.

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Fourth Prototype

Sound Mapping HI G SO HER UN D INTE

To better understand how sound should be experienced in out project, we mapped out where concentrations of sound should lie. We also accounted for how active certain areas of our project would be.

NS ITY

NE

UT

RA

LS

AC T

IVE

OU N

D

PA SSI

HI G SO HER UN D INTE

VE

NS ITY

AC T

need areas that provide sound relief

IVE

Sound Types

IN

TE

EX

RE

LA

PE R

IEN CE

ZO NE

DS EA TIN G

EX

BE R SPA TOI CE A N AN ATU D S RA OU L ND S

USER EXPERIENCE EX

RA TIV

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XE

PE R

IEN CE

ZO NE

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In our design research, we discovered Bertoiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Sonambient, a sculpture with an abstract sound. We chose to mimic that in combination with our hanging sound chimes to create an active soundscape.

PE R

IEN CE

ZO NE

Pedestrian Flow It was important to understand where sound would be most impactful, especially considering entry points for different user groups.

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Fourth Prototype

Plan The plan has changed significantly since the fourth concept; now, there are a variety of pathways to the canopy and the canopy connects the north and south sides of the site.

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grand center soundscape After a long design development phase, we were able to find rationale and meaning for within the design which resulted in our final design. The extensive research phase helped to better inform us on the neighborhoodâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s needs and influenced our final work.

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final concept Context In order to understand the concept, it is important to know how the different user groups influenced the designâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s development. The driving forces behind the design considered where different points of entry would be, and how engaged users would be Over 50% of the Grand Center population below 18 lives in the development to the east of the site.

families

The Grand Center has one of the most concentrated districts of arts and culture venues in the US, drawing visitors from around the metro area.

The Veterans Hospital houses most of the neighborhoodâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 60+ population; the hospital also serves veterans from around St. Louis.

veterans

arts district

Plan The final design includes a mix of canopy structures, portable grass boxes, and sound sculptures. The major lines of access are visible in the plan: from the south-west (arts visitors), the north-west (VA Hospital), and north-east (nearby families). The blue canopy connects the site from north to south, while the green spaces draw visitors into the space.

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Final Concept connecting

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B d Blv

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D eDel m lm aa r Br

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Bl v

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Frankli n

Ave

Frankli Fran klinn AA ve ve

Main structure positioned in center of site to connect visitors coming from the Arts District and families from nearby housing.

Gra

nd

Blv d

green space

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dB

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Gra

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Franklin

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Green spaces serve as flexible areas for relaxation, garden boxes, and frame pathways through the site.

d

Blv d

sound

Gra

nGrdand BBlvlvd

d

104

D

eDle mlma ar Brl vd B

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FraFrnanklkliin n Ave Ave

Sound elements integrated into the structure and the ground plane promote serenity through music and emphasize the history of music in the city.

Final Concept sound The project creates a soundscape from the music of Chuck Berry’s ‘Johnny B. Goode’, both in form and in pitch. The placement of the hanging chimes and height of the sound sculptures correlate to the position of the notes on the staff. The chimes are tuned to the major chords of the song: B♭ Major, E♭ Major, and F Major; the planted sculpture creates a percussive brushing sound.

Sound Sculpture

Hanging Sound Chimes

flexible seating In order to lessen the heat island effect and soften the existing asphalt covered site, small movable platforms with grass are placed throughout the site, providing reconfigurable seating options that allow visitors to sit, eat, rest, and play. micro agriculture Small container gardens provide space for urban agriculture. To help combat the food insecurity of the area, the vegetables and fruits grown on site can be taken by anyone to eat.

Additional space is provided near the container gardens for mobile food trucks to bring produce and healthy food selections to the site.

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Final Concept

Family Zone This area is closest to the residential development. The scale is slightly smaller than the other canopies to fit the smaller users. Instead of flat seating, there are hollow boxes of varied heights that can be used to climb on or strike to create percussive sound.

Garden Zone The agriculture boxes in this zone provide a valuable resource for the community.

While access to fresh vegetables is often difficult when on a budget, the produce cultivated here is available for anyone to eat. There is also space for mobile grocers and food trucks to park in order to serve the community.

Sound Zone The entry from the Arts District puts visitors directly into the soundscape. This guides users into the soundscape, where they can see a performer or simply sit under the chimes.

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Final Concept

View from the VA Hospital

Garden Zone The flexibility of our project is not only in who can use the space, but when and how.

Visitors can enjoy eating lunch from a food truck in the afternoon. After dark, the space can transform into a stage for pop-up shows, allowing Arts District visitors to keep the night going. The Grand Center Soundscape allows for all users to create their own experience while benefiting the larger community.

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competition content The end goal for the semester was to submit our project to TerraViva’s “Tactical Urbanism NOW!” competition. We summarized our work from the semester in two A2 boards and a short 250 word summary.

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submission Board 1 The first board explains the context and problems present in our site.

Board 2 The second board shows our solution and resolved concept.

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250 Word Summary

The Grand Center neighborhood in St. Louis, Missouri, USA, is an area with a rich cultural history that includes the origins of Rock ‘n Roll and Blues. Today, this neighborhood faces many socioeconomic challenges, including poverty, food insecurity, and blight.

Located in the Grand Center Arts District on the Delmar Divide, a racial and economic division of St. Louis, the site aims to break down the barriers between residents by bringing the community together to build resilience.

Leveraging an underutilized parking lot located across from the Veteran’s Association Hospital, adjacent to Powell Hall, a historic venue, and near residential complexes, the project creates a multi-faceted Soundscape. The Soundscape, a flexible space with sculptural sound elements, arched pavilions, reconfigurable seating areas, and small container gardens, provides a place where people from all backgrounds can gather and connect.

Inspired by Chuck Berry’s ‘Johnny B. Goode,’ hanging chimes and planted sound sculptures correlate to the position of the notes from the song. Temporary pavilion structures provide shaded gathering and performance spaces. Small, movable grassy platforms are placed throughout the site, providing reconfigurable seating options that allow visitors areas to sit, eat, and play, while reducing the heat island effect from the parking lot. Small container gardens provide space for urban agriculture with easy community access.

The Soundscape provides much-needed social infrastructure for people to come together to build social capital and resilience by transforming a parking lot into a desirable outdoor space where the community can gather at any time, united by music.

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Submission

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Submission

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